Alcatel and STMicroelectronics Sign Co-operation Agreement for Development and Supply of Future GSM/GPRS Chipsets.Business Editors/High Tech Writers GENEVA & PARIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 14, 2002 Alcatel design team will be transferred to ST; Multi-year supply agreement; ST gets access to know-how and intellectual property STMicroelectronics (NYSE NYSE See: New York Stock Exchange :STM (Scanning Tunneling Microscope) A microscope that can image down to the atomic level. An STM uses a piezoelectric tube with a tiny sharp tip at the end that is moved within nanometers of the object being sampled. ) and Alcatel (Paris: CGEP CGEP Commonwealth Graduate Engineering Program (Virginia) CGEP Center for Gifted Education Policy .PA and NYSE:ALA) today announced a new co-operation agreement for the development of future GSM/GPRS chipsets for mobile phones and other wireless connectivity applications. Under the terms of the agreement Alcatel is transferring to ST its team of mobile phone integrated circuit integrated circuit (IC), electronic circuit built on a semiconductor substrate, usually one of single-crystal silicon. The circuit, often called a chip, is packaged in a hermetically sealed case or a nonhermetic plastic capsule, with leads extending from it for designers. ST will get access to the know-how and intellectual property developed by this group and related to GSM/GPRS. The resulting chipsets will be available for the open market. This co-operation also includes a multi-year supply agreement associated with 2.5G chipsets. This co-operation between ST and Alcatel in the development of GSM/GPRS chipsets will result in cost-optimized solutions for the basic 'engine' of the mobile phone, allowing Alcatel to concentrate more on elements which now differentiate mobile phones - software, product integration, user interface design and styling. This cost optimization and the availability for the open market favor the use of GSM/GPRS chipsets for embedded wireless communications wireless communications System using radio-frequency, infrared, microwave, or other types of electromagnetic or acoustic waves in place of wires, cables, or fibre optics to transmit signals or data. in other applications, such as PDAs, automotive systems See ITS, embedded system, drive-by-wire, adaptive cruise control, collision avoidance system, autonomous vehicle, heads-up display, DSRC, lane departure system, CAN bus, FlexRay and SYNC. and laptop computers. "We have a very high respect for the know-how accumulated by this team of engineers over many years," commented Aldo Romano Aldo Romano (born January, 1941 Belluno, Italy) is a free jazz drummer. He also started a rock group in 1971. He moved to France as a child and by the 1950s he played guitar and drums professionally in Paris, but his career gained notice when he started working with Don , General Manager of ST's Telecommunications and Peripherals/Automotive Groups. "Their expertise reinforces very well the present activity performed by ST. With this move ST demonstrates its determination and sustained investment in the field of wireless communication." The design team transferred from Alcatel to ST has a field-proven experience in analog and digital baseband as well as in digital signal processing See DSP. Digital Signal Processing - (DSP) Computer manipulation of analog signals (commonly sound or image) which have been converted to digital form (sampled). and radio frequency design for GSM and GPRS (General Packet Radio Service) The first high-speed digital data service provided by cellular carriers that used the GSM technology. GPRS added a packet-switched channel to GSM, which uses dedicated, circuit-switched channels for voice conversations. applications. "In the rapidly evolving mobile phone market, we shall see on the one hand chip set suppliers developing the GSM/GPRS engine and on the other hand, handset manufacturers like Alcatel focusing their efforts on the integration of technologies aimed at improving the value for the consumer with advanced services, user-friendly man-machine interface and attractive styling," said Jacques Combet, Director of Alcatel Mobile Phones activities. ST and Alcatel have been partners for many years, jointly developing a large variety of integrated circuits Integrated circuits Miniature electronic circuits produced within and upon a single semiconductor crystal, usually silicon. Integrated circuits range in complexity from simple logic circuits and amplifiers, about 1/20 in. (1. for communications applications. This partnership has proved very effective in other communication systems, where the combination of system know-how from Alcatel and system-on-chip know-how from ST has resulted in a range of competitive chipset solutions. New digital baseband chips to be developed by the Alcatel/ST design team will be based on ST's advanced ST100 DSP (1) (Digital Signal Processor) A special-purpose CPU used for digital signal processing applications (see definition #2 below). It provides ultra-fast instruction sequences, such as shift and add, and multiply and add, which are commonly used in math-intensive core, chosen by Alcatel in 2000 as their preferred core for communications applications. The additional power of the ST100 will allow enhancements to chipset performance and the implementation of new features. General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) is a new standard that allows the transmission of data over GSM telephone networks at a higher speed and with the convenience of immediate communication without waiting for dialup connections. GPRS is expected to bring new vitality to the market for wireless data communication by enabling mobile Internet services that are fast and user friendly. About Alcatel Alcatel designs, develops and builds innovative and competitive communications networks, enabling carriers, service providers and enterprises to deliver any type of content, such as voice, data and multimedia, to any type of consumer, anywhere in the world. Relying on its leading and comprehensive products and solutions portfolio, stretching from end-to-end optical infrastructures, fixed and mobile networks to broadband access, Alcatel's customers can focus on optimizing their service offerings and revenue streams. With sales of EURO 25 billion in 2001 and 99,000 employees, Alcatel operates in more than 130 countries. For more information, visit Alcatel on the Internet: http://www.alcatel.com About STMicroelectronics STMicroelectronics, the world's third largest independent semiconductor company, is a global leader in developing and delivering semiconductor solutions across the spectrum of microelectronics applications. An unrivalled combination of silicon and system expertise, manufacturing strength, IP portfolio and strategic partners positions the Company at the forefront of System-on-Chip (SoC) technology and its products play a key role in enabling today's convergence markets. The Company shares are traded on the New York Stock Exchange New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) World's largest marketplace for securities. The exchange began as an informal meeting of 24 men in 1792 on what is now Wall Street in New York City. , on Euronext Paris and on the Milan Stock Exchange Milan Stock Exchange The largest regional stock exchange in Italy, facilitating more than 90% of the country's trading volume. . In 2001, the Company's net revenues were $6.36 billion and net earnings were $257.1 million. Further information on ST can be found at www.st.com . |
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